Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys make up Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who were responsible for some of the catchiest and brightest synth pop that the ’80s had to offer. O.M.D.’s material was a step above other keyboard pop music of the time, thanks to the combination of intelligently crafted hooks and colorful rhythms that bounced and jittered with pristine charm.Read More

Duran Duran personified new wave for much of the mainstream audience. And for good reason. Duran Duran’s reputation was built through music videos, which accentuated their fashion-model looks and glamorous sense of style. Without music videos, it’s likely that their pop-funk — described by the group as the Sex Pistols-meet-Chic — would never have made them international pop stars.Read More

Along with Duran Duran, Billy Idol was one the first pop/rock artists to achieve massive success in the early ’80s due to a then brand-new U.S. television network, MTV. Mixing his bad-boy good looks with an appealing blend of pop hooks, punk attitude, and a dance beats, Idol quickly rocketed to stardom, before hard living derailed his career and almost proved fatal.Read More

An excellent round-up of the 15 hit singles that, between late 1980 and fall 1984, saw Spandau Ballet transcend every prediction ever levelled at their music, and establish themselves among the most versatile British bands of their era.Read More

Post-modern ironists cloaked behind a veil of buoyantly melodic and lushly romantic synth pop confections, Pet Shop Boys established themselves among the most commercially and critically successful groups of their era with cheeky, smart, and utterly danceable music. Always remaining one step ahead of their contemporaries, the British duo navigated the constantly shifting landscape of modern dance-pop with rare grace and intelligence, moving easily from disco to house to techno with their own distinctive image remaining completely intact.Read More

Originally a product of Britain’s new romantic movement, Depeche Mode went on to become the quintessential electropop band of the 1980s. One of the first acts to establish a musical identity based completely around the use of synthesizers, they began their existence as a bouncy dance-pop outfit but gradually developed a darker, more dramatic sound that ultimately positioned them as one of the most successful alternative bands of their era.Read More

Embracing a broad range of pop music that encompassed British Invasion rock, garage rock, disco, reggae, Latin rhythms, and hip-hop, Blondie was the most commercially successful band to emerge from the New York punk/new wave community of the late ’70s.Read More

A slick, carefully crafted follow-up to his debut, Rebel Yell was Billy Idol’s catchiest, most consistent fusion of synth-driven new wave pop and hard rock guitar pyrotechnics (courtesy of Steve Stevens). The eerie ballad “Eyes Without a Face” gave Idol his first U.S. Top Ten hit, while “Flesh for Fantasy” and the title track became MTV staples. Like much of Idol’s solo output, it’s all calculated for maximum appeal, but Rebel Yell also works too well not to be an infectiously guilty pleasure.Read More

When it comes to new wave compilations that attempt to strike a balance between well-known hits and lesser-known singles that deserved more play, the New Wave installment in Hip-O’s Gold series has to be considered exceptional. If you already own a good number of new wave comps, you will likely have a good portion of what is here, including Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” the Waitresses’ “I Know What Boys Like,” Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy,” and Nena’s “99 Luftballoons.” This being a generous 30-track, two-disc set, there’s a lot of room left for the deeper inclusions.Read More

Since the Cars had created a perfect album with their 1978 self-titled debut, it would be nearly impossible to top it. Instead of laboring long and hard over a follow-up like many ’70s bands did after a huge commercial success, the band cranked out their sophomore effort, Candy-O, almost exactly one year later from the first LP.Read More

By augmenting their sound with more synthesizers, electronics, and drum machines, the Cars’ fourth release, Shake It Up, helped bridge their hard rock-based early work (1978’s The Cars) with the futuristic-pop direction of 1984’s Heartbeat City. The band’s sound may have been evolving with each succeeding album, but Ric Ocasek was still writing compelling new wave compositions despite all the change, many of which would ultimately become rock & roll standards.Read More